Somewhere Between Happy
by alicestilinski
Summary: Gabby Robinson had always been the best friend of Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski. After a mysterious three day disappearance, followed by eight months away, she returns and fits right back in again, until everything about them changes. Now the three have to deal with all the problems that comes when your best friend becomes a werewolf, as well as teenage drama. Stiles/OC.
1. Chapter 1

"Right, so let's start this. Gabrielle Adeline Robinson?" the therapist looked at me over her white framed glasses. I rolled my eyes.  
"It's Gabby, but yes, that's me" I said with barely veiled frustration  
"And your parents won't be joining you?" she asked. I scoffed.  
"They'll be about as absent as they have been the last sixteen years" I muttered. I was met with a blank stare, "that means no" I hissed. She looked back down at the file on her lap, ignoring my rudeness,  
"So, Gabby. You've been receiving treatment for depression at the Moorebrook Centre in New York for the last year and are returning to Beacon Hills to live with family friends?"  
"You just read that in the file in front of you, so obviously" I replied with disinterest,  
"Why are you not going to live with your parents?"  
"They live in Los Angeles"  
"And?"  
"And I don't want to live there"  
"Why's that?"  
"I hate Los Angeles and all my friends are in Beacon Hills"  
"And you're keen to return to your friends?"  
"Who wouldn't be?"  
"Well for a lot of people, their relationships with friends are part of the causes for their depression"  
"Not for me" I clenched my hands against the arms of the chair I was in, "honestly, can I please leave? I swear to God, you're the worst shrink I have ever had the most unfortunate experience of speaking to, and I have a new room to move into. We've talked for about ten minutes and I feel like it's been an hour, okay? Thanks, but no thanks. I've had damn near a year of sitting in a room with a therapist for two hours every single weekday. Tell my parents that they can send the money they're sending you, to Melissa, okay? Because being with her and Scott, and being back around Stiles is going to fix me more than this-" I gestured between her and I, "ever will. I'm leaving" I stood, grabbing my handbag from the floor and leaving the office. The receptionist looked at me with a questioning look as a swept past her, but I didn't care; I was sick and tired of having to deal with therapists.

I walked out to my car and sat in the driver's seat, resting my head on the steering wheel. I hadn't even gotten to Scott's yet; my car was still filled with boxes and bags, and my parents were already wearing me down, and they weren't even here. When my parents dragged me away to the east coast for treatment eight months ago, I had been in a bad place. I was practically living alone, with my parents always away on business, I was failing my classes and had been in a serious depression. Then "The Incident", as my parents referred to it as, happened; and I was whisked away from my friends with only a look from the back window of a car as a goodbye. It had been eight months and four days since then, and I wanted my life to begin again. I started the car and pointed myself in the direction of Scott's. I was finally back in Beacon Hills, I wasn't about to spend any more time away from the people who the reason I was back. I finally pulled up outside the familiar house and took the keys out of the ignition, stepping out the car. I saw a familiar mop of dark hair in the lounge window, turn and I saw his face break into a smile. I smiled back and ran up the path to the porch. The front door opened and I ran into Scott's wide open arms,  
"Scotty!" I practically shrieked in his ears as his squeezed me tight, lifting me off the ground. I heard his sigh in my ear,  
"Gabby. Oh my god" he murmured, his arms tight around me. He eventually put me down, his hands still resting on my shoulders, "it's so great to have you here". I looked behind him and saw his mom, Melissa smiling at me.  
"Hi sweetheart, give us a hug" she said warmly, and I walked into her embrace. I had always felt close with Melissa. She felt more like a mother than the ice-cold witch that mine was. I stepped away and looked around the house, feeling like I really was at home. Scott was bouncing on his heels,  
"Okay, your room is upstairs, the one with the bay window" he said excitedly. Melissa rubbed my arm,  
"You don't have your own bathroom, you and I have to share, if that's okay?" she asked,  
"Oh that's fine, really. I'm just glad to be here, and really keen to unpack" I replied, looking back at my little Suzuki Swift that was filled to the brim with boxes. Scott practically sprinted out to the car, opening the back door and grabbing as many boxes as he could. Melissa and I chuckled, going out and grabbing boxes and following Scott up to my room.

I walked inside and saw familiarity. My parents had sent my old furniture earlier, so my double bed sat under the bay window, my drawers against the wall behind the door, my desk at the bottom of the bed, atop it sat my new laptop; a guilt present from my parents. The wardrobe door was open and empty, and to the left of it was a corkboard, above my bookcase. Scott had put the boxes on top my bed and he took the ones from my arms and put them next to them,  
"I can get all these, Gabby, you can start unpacking" he said before dashing from the room again. I chuckled. He wasn't making a secret of how excited he was to have me back in Beacon Hills. Eventually all the boxes were stacked around my room, with my suitcases and duffel bag sitting in the doorway. I pulled back my straw blonde hair into a scruffy ponytail and set to unpacking.

* * *

It took me about two hours, but I eventually had all my books, CDs and DVDs in my bookcase in alphabetical order, and most of my clothes unpacked. I heard a tapping on the open door and turned and saw Scott standing there, dominating the doorway. I smiled,  
"What's up Scott?"  
"Nothing . I just can't believe you're back" he replied, walking into my room and sitting at the wheelie chair at my desk. I smiled again, returning to the suitcase full of my printed t-shirts,  
"Stiles is coming over later. He wants to celebrate the beginning of summer with his best friends" he said, absent-mindedly fiddling with the edges of the desk. It was amazing at how well we slotted back into the friends thing again. The whole flight back to the west coast and the subsequent drive from Los Angeles I had worried about arriving in Beacon Hills to find Scott cold and confused about what I had been through. I knew for a fact that his mom had told him what happened with me, and why I left, I was pretty sure Sheriff Stilinski had told Stiles. We had been sitting in a companionable silence, me still unpacking my print t-shirts into my drawers, when a loud, mechanical rattling made us both turn to the windows above my bed,  
"That'll be Stiles" Scott said, standing and looking out the window, me standing behind to see a beat up, old, blue Jeep,  
"The kid drives?"  
"He's good too. You're allowed to be surprised" Scott replied with a laugh when he was met with my doubting face, "Come on, let's go downstairs before he gets to the door" he said, reaching for my hand to take me downstairs. I took hold and we went down and sat in the living room, nestling right into the corner of the sofa, Scott sitting next to me. I looked down at myself. Did I still look like me? I had on a pair of jean shorts that stopped just above my knees and my old Beatles t-shirt I'd had since I was about fourteen and my stripy ankle socks. I still felt like me (well, as me as I could feel nowadays). I was about find out as I heard footsteps on the porch and the door opening,  
"Hello?" Stiles called out. I heard him cuss and stumble as he caught his foot on the rug,  
"Living room, dude!" Scott called out and I saw Stiles finally appear, tripping yet again. Our eyes met and I saw a plethora of emotions cross his face, before finally settling on happiness, and he practically screamed at me,  
"Gabby! Oh my GOD, Gabby!" he practically screamed, running toward me as I stood up and be pulled into a crushing hug. I squeezed around him just as tight,  
"Hey Stiles, I missed you too" I said around a laugh, as Stiles pulled away, still looking at me,  
"I'm just…wow. I'm just so happy to see you here again" Stiles said, tripping over his words. I smiled at him again before looking away, letting my scruffy bangs fall over my eyes,  
"Well, now we're all back together, what are we going to do?" Stiles asked excitedly,  
"Dude, I still have unpacking to do before we can even think of going out and doing fun stuff" I replied, throwing him one of my old looks that I used to use to tell him he was being stupid. I saw Scott laugh at the familiarity and stand up,  
"Well let's go get this finished then" he said, shoving us back upstairs. For the next couple of hours as I continued unpacking clothes and my general stuff out of cases and boxes, I let the boys use their distinct height advantage to pin my film posters on the blank walls. Soon I had my room feeling familiar and homely as we flattened boxes and put them out to be recycled. As we stood outside, I turned to Stiles,  
"Okay then, Twitchy, now you can celebrate a summer with your best friends ahead of you" I said, as he broke out in one of his dorky grins,  
"Really?!"  
"Yes, now let me get my wallet and shoes and we can go" I said, dashing back inside, returning quickly and slinging my arms around Stiles and Scott's shoulders,  
"Come on dorks, I'm feeling like burgers and curly fries" I said, making Stiles grin widely.

* * *

After piling into Stiles' Jeep we took the ten minute drive to the closest fast food restaurant for burgers. We each ordered, making sure I had my own lot of curly fries to keep them away from Stiles, we were sat down in the old booth we had been sitting in since we were kids coming here with our families. The conversation was light, keeping to topics about Scott and Stiles and the gossip I had missed out on in the last few months and talking about lacrosse. It wasn't until we were nearly finished that I decided to tell them everything,  
"Okay you guys. I know you're trying to keep the conversation away from what I've had to deal with the last eight months, but I need to set the record straight or I'm going to go nuts. You know how I went missing for three days? Well, I don't actually know what happened to me, okay? All I know is that I had a massive panic attack breakdown, and then I blank for three days until Sheriff Stilinski found me in the preserve with my arms all scratched raw by my own nails. Mom and dad shipped me off to New York to get me help, and to get me into therapy to figure out what happened to me" I looked up at them and saw their confused and concerned faces, "I got help with my depression and self-harm, but I still have no idea what happened for those three days" I explained in a quieter voice, twisting my hands together on my lap. Scott and Stiles shared a look. I sighed,  
"Come on guys, can we just not make it weird? I just wanted to be honest. What did my parents tell you guys?" Stiles cleared his throat,  
"Um, we kind of never got told the full story. I mean…we were out looking for you those three days. We weren't supposed to, dad told us to stay at home but we did anyway. Then you were found in the preserve and taken to the hospital and uh…well, your parents didn't let us see you. That's why when you left, we were all…frantic or whatever to see you" he stuttered out. I felt my jaw drop slightly and close. Mom and dad had told me that they had kept them in the loop,  
"So…did you get any news about me this past eight months?" I asked. Scott shook his head,  
"Nothing really, other than where you were. We didn't know anything else until your mom came and asked my mom if you could live with us". I fell back against the backrest of my seat. I felt like I should be angry, but I couldn't pretend like something like this was a surprise. My parents had always been absent, and in recent years had made no secret about wanting me to find new friends who weren't Scott and Stiles. But if they didn't want them knowing how I was recovering, why send me to live with Scott? I sighed again, running my hand over my face,  
"Well I am not going to pretend that this is surprizing. Their stellar parenting strikes again" I scoffed, managing to get a smile out of the two, "look dorks, I'm still Gabby, okay? Except not with the depression and all that. I just want to get back to normal here, guys; and hopefully not be plagued by rumours that I was pregnant or some bullshit like that" I said, trying to get back to a more neutral conversation. I saw them both crack a smile, and I relaxed. I hadn't made it awkward. We finished off our food, Stiles practically bouncing with happiness when I gave him the last of my curly fries.

* * *

Stiles then drove us home, and I found myself dozing off as I sat in the backseat, listening to Scott and Stiles chat about summer plans and video games. We finally pulled up outside home and I jolted myself awake. I climbed out and staggered slightly as I stood on the sidewalk. Stiles practically leapt over to help me, but I swatted him away,  
"Stiles. I'm fine, I just need to go take my meds and go to bed. I'm exhausted – oh balls, I forgot to make up my bed!" I groaned, thinking of the bare double bed,  
"I can do that!" Stiles offered as we walked inside, "Scott and I will make your bed up, and you go take your pills and get ready for bed" he continued, Scott nodding in agreement beside him,  
"Ugh, okay fine. Just let me get pajamas first" I said, slogging up the stairs to my room and fishing out my blue pajama shorts and R2D2 t-shirt,  
"Away you go" I called down the stairs as I went in to the bathroom to change. I quickly put on my pajamas and took off my makeup. I looked at my bare face in the mirror. I was surprized with how well the day had gone. I expected Scott and Stiles to be angry with me for leaving, regardless of how excited I was to be moving back. There had been a large part of me that expected hostility and that I'd have to re-earn their friendship; but that obviously wasn't the case at all. I heard a disagreement down the hall, as Stiles tried and failed to show Scott how to tuck in bed sheets properly. I laughed and left the bathroom and went down to the kitchen to get my meds. I had agreed to keep my pills in the kitchen, and have someone around when I took them to make sure I did. I popped out the various capsules from their foil packets, lining them up on the kitchen counter. I went and filled up a glass of water and waited for Scott and Stiles to finish their argument and come downstairs. About ten minutes later, after hearing about ten different insults hurled at each other, Scott and Stiles came back down and into the kitchen. Stiles came and sat next to me at the breakfast bar, with Scott resting his hands on the counter in front of me,  
"Sorry if the left side is poorly tucked in, that was _someone else's_ side" Stiles said, throwing a glare at Scott,  
"Oh my god, Stiles! It's Gabby! She sleeps like a damn starfish anyway! Do you not remember the countless sleepovers when she's kicked you in her sleep?!" he retorted, gesturing at me. I just laughed and started swallowing my meds. Stiles glared again,  
"Not the point, Scotty-boy. I won't accept crappy workmanship" he shot back. I finished taking all my pills and got up to put the now-empty glass in the dishwasher,  
"Stiles, Scott has a point. But as a point of interest, I don't really toss and turn anymore, I stopped that a few months ago" I said as I started wandering back towards the hall, "look, if you're gonna play Halo or something, don't wake me up. Parts of my sleeping patterns may have change, but I am still a nasty piece of work if I get woken up when I don't want to be. Goodnight, dorks" I said, waving at them and going up to my room. I climbed beneath my bedcovers; one side noticeably less tucked in than the other, and snuggled down. I usually lay a while and thought about my day, and what I wanted to happen the next, but I was asleep in moments.

**Author's Note: Okay woah this is a thing now. Yeah so, that's my first chapter of "Somewhere Between Happy". This is my first multi-chapter fic I've actually had the guts to post. I will try to keep to a two week between chapters schedule, but if that changes, I'll post on tumblr (which is linked in my profiles, but my ff name is the same as my tumblr url). Review to let me know what you think, or send me a tumblr ask. See you in two weeks (or earlier if the next chapter writing goes as well as it is at the moment)**

**- Alice**


	2. Chapter 2

I woke late the next morning, sunlight streaming through the windows above me. I rolled over and checked the time on my phone. 11 am. I groaned and rubbed at my eyes. I hadn't meant to sleep so late, but at around 1am I had been awoken by a shout of victory from Stiles. I had stomped out into the hall and yelled down the stairs "STILES! GO HOME!" before going back into my room. Now I was awake, I lay on my front for a few moments and realizing that I wasn't going to fall back asleep, I got out of bed and pulled on the hoody I was wearing last night over the top of my pajamas and went downstairs to have breakfast. Melissa was standing at the breakfast bar, coffee in hand and newspaper open in front of her. She turned when she heard me walk in,  
"Good morning Sleeping Beauty" she joked as I opened the cupboard to search for cereal, choosing Cocoa Puffs,  
"Yeah, I guess all that unpacking really knocked me out. I mean, you were in bed when we got back, but it wasn't late. I was in bed but like, 10:30. Stiles was still here at 1am though. Him and Scott must've played some Halo or something and he had obviously gotten a kill, because he practically screamed with victory. I told him to go home though" I explained as I pulled out a bowl and shook the cereal into the bowl, then pouring in the milk,  
"Yeah I heard that one" she said with a laugh, "you're obviously a lot better at getting him to go home than I am"  
"It's because while we're best friends, him and Scott both still fear me. Especially when they wake me up"  
"I do remember that from the many sleepovers you kids have had" Melissa replied with a laugh,  
"It's nice to see they haven't forgotten" I said as I took a seat at breakfast bar, "when do you start work?" I asked. She checked her watch and sighed,  
"Soon, I better go get ready" she replied, "You guys will be okay for dinner? I'm not going to be home until late"  
"No, we'll be fine, honestly" I said around a mouthful of cereal,  
"Okay. Well there's plenty there for you to make something from scratch, but we still have some lasagna in the fridge if you don't want to cook"  
"Melissa, we'll be fine" I smiled at her. She smiled back, "I forget you guys aren't kids anymore" she said, rubbing her forehead,  
"Understandable. I feel like it was yesterday that we were still sitting watching Rugrats after school"  
"So do I" she replied, "I'm gonna go change for work and get going. Scott's in the backyard, practicing for lacrosse. I'll see you guys later, okay sweetie? I'll call on my dinner break" she leant across the breakfast bar and kissed the top of my head,  
"Bye Melissa" I said, giving her another wide smile, which she returned. I heard her go upstairs and into her room.

I decided to go outside and sit on the back porch and watch Scott practice as I finished my cereal. I went out the back door, and sure enough he had about 20 lacrosse balls on the grass in front of him,  
"Morning" I called out, catching his attention,  
"Hey. You slept pretty late"  
"You didn't. You used to sleep later than I ever did" as I sat on the stairs. He laughed, "Yeah I guess so. I've made it a mission to train to get better at lacrosse. I need to make first string" he explained, scooping up one of the balls and hurling at the makeshift net he had made between a tree and a lawn chair,  
"Good to see you have a goal" I said as I finished the last of my Cocoa Puffs, "Moorebrook was nuts for those. Kept trying to make me make them all the time and make different ones but I never did"  
"What'd you do?" he asked,  
"Kept the same one. Get better and move back to Beacon Hills" I replied with a shrug, setting the empty bowl down next to me. Scott just smiled, scooping up another ball and hurling it at the net again,  
"So when'd Stiles leave?" I asked, stretching out, letting my legs gets warm from the sun,  
"Pretty soon after you yelled at him to be honest, he didn't want to risk you hearing us playing Halo again and going full Hulk at him"  
"I told him to shut up if you guys were going to play Halo, and I reminded him what I'm like if people wake me unexpectedly for no reason" I shrugged again, "Not my fault. Speaking of that dork, are we hanging out today?"  
"He'll probably show up after lunch, he usually does" Scott threw another ball at the net, "we were going to bust out the old games from when we were kids I think". I sat up, "Like what? Crash Team Racing? Please say CTR, Scott" I practically begged. We had played hours of that game when we were kids, unlocking everything and getting the fastest possible time on each track,  
"I do remember that one being in the conversation" he said, being intentionally vague. I frowned at him, "Loser. Well I'm gonna go shower and stuff. You have fun with your vague-ness and your lacrosse" I snapped back at him as I stood to go back inside. He scrunched up his face at me before returning to his practice.

I went inside, rinsing my dishes before going back upstairs. I looked out my bedroom window and saw Melissa's car gone. She had gone to work. I went and had a long soak in the shower, letting myself wake up properly. I took the time to dry my hair with my hairdryer before braiding my scruffy blonde hair back into a French braid. I lined my eyes with brown eyeliner and applied the usual makeup I wore before going into my room to change. I wore a long olive green maxi skirt with my yellow tank top and bunch of my old string bracelets and bangles on my arms. I was about to go downstairs when my phone started ringing. I answered without checking the name on the screen,  
"Hello?"  
"Hello Gabrielle, I hear you walked out of your therapist appointment" I hear through the phone. My mother. I sighed,  
"Yes, Carey. I walked out because she was fucking useless" I replied, instantly feeling my anger rising. I heard my mother let out an exasperated sigh, "Gabrielle, you know how I feel when you use my first name, and you know how I feel about you using that language" she said in that tired voice she seemed to reserve for any topic relating to me. I gritted my teeth and didn't reply,  
"Oh so you aren't talking now? Okay well, Evelyn passed on your message and I'll be transferring money into Melissa's account later"  
"Good" I said, my teeth still clenched together,  
"One of the conditions of leaving Moorebrook was that you got a therapist though, Gabrielle, don't go forgetting that"  
"I haven't, Carey. Melissa works in a hospital, I think she can find someone more suited for me"  
"Evelyn has two doctorates, you should've given her a try" my mother droned. I could just imagine her; gliding through that Beverly Hills mansion with the polished marble floors and the sweeping staircase, with the personally designed crystal chandelier above her. Talking on her latest model iPhone, no evidence of my existence on the walls, only portraits of her and my father hanging next to the staircase,  
"I don't give a shit if she has two doctorates, because neither of them seemed to be in people skills" I snapped,  
"Well right now Gabrielle, nor do you. I can tell you're upset, so I'll let you return to whatever it is you were doing. Remember our agreement though"  
"Yes, Carey. I need to get a job, keep up with my medication and get at least one friend other than Scott and Stiles". I could practically hear the smug smile my mother made,  
"Glad to see we're on the same page. I'll call in a few days, I have to go to Sydney on business, and your father is in Seattle. Goodbye now" and she hung up.

I fought the insane urge to hurl my phone at the wall. My mother. No one made me angrier. Her ice blonde pixie cut hair, pale skin and tall figure, always clad in expensive designer clothes and always jetting off overseas for her jewelry business. She hadn't always been the witch that she was. Up until about I was five, she had designed and worked from home. It was then that she got a deal from an investor and her career really took off and began raking in huge amounts of money, as her jewelry started showing up on the bodies of A-list celebrities at award ceremonies. My father, being a lawyer, had always been somewhat absent, but as my mother's fame skyrocketed in the space of a couple of years, they both disappeared from my life. I'd never forget the two weeks when I was twelve that I was by myself whilst they both went to Los Angeles on business, Melissa and Sheriff Stilinski swapping between coming in and checking on me. I never told anyone, but those two weeks I had cried myself to sleep every single night, hearing my sobs echo around that giant, empty house. Even now, I had to bite my tongue and blink away a few tears which threatened to spill when I even thought about it. I heard the front door open downstairs and Stiles' voice call out. I quickly went to the mirror and wiped at my eyes, checking that my makeup hadn't smudged. When I saw I was in the clear I quickly left my room and headed downstairs,  
"Hey Stiles!" I called out, making him snap his head in my direction. I was still getting used to his buzzcut. He'd always kept his hair shorter as we grew up, going through a phase of having it long at about age twelve, but he'd cut it back by the time we were thirteen. But the buzzed short hair was a new thing since I'd been away,  
"Hey Gabby. Where's Scott? You guys ready for some retro gaming?" he asked, holding up a backpack,  
"He's out in the backyard, I'll grab him. And yes we are, if you brought Crash Team Racing with you, then yes I am ready to kick both your butts" I said I wandered out to the porch, calling Scott inside as Stiles went to set up the old PlayStation.

* * *

And that was how the summer passed. Scott, Stiles and I spending time together; gaming and watching movies (which almost always ended in Stiles and I having brutal, lengthy debates about the greatest film ever. His argument was The Dark Knight, mine was The Shawshank Redemption) and watching TV shows. I managed to secure a job at the bowling alley, kept up with my medication, and agreed to have meetings with the school counsellor, Ms Morrell on a consistent basis once school started again. It was the night before returning to school, and I had made the decision to retire to my room early. I was sprawled out over my bed reading an old copy of _The Lord of the Rings_ and listening to a mix CD Scott and I had made years ago that pretty much consisted solely of music from our emo/pop-punk phase. I'd finally reached the Battle for Pelennor Fields when I heard a shriek from outside on the porch. I knew that noise anywhere. Stiles. I groaned and glanced at my alarm clock. It was nearly 10:30 pm. I pulled on the green ankle socks that were on the end of my bed and padded downstairs. I yanked open the front door, making Scott and Stiles jump,  
"Nerds! What the hell are you doing?!" I snapped. Scott twisted the baseball bat he had between his hands and Stiles kicked his heel against the porch floor, "I swear to god if you don't tell me, I'm gonna call Sheriff Stilinski" I threatened, making them glance at each other. Stiles caved in milliseconds and told me, "Dad got called out twenty minutes ago. They found half of a woman's body in the woods" he said, trying to act like he wasn't excited,  
"Half?! Why the hell are you excited?!" I replied, feeling my voices go up an octave,  
"Nothing happens around here!" he shot back, flinging his arms out, "what else are we gonna do?! There is half a body out there in the woods, and we're gonna go look for it" he said with finality, trying to look affirmative. I rolled my eyes, "Let me just put on some shoes. I am not letting you freaks go without me" I murmured as I ignored the shout of victory that Stiles couldn't contain.

* * *

We drove to the preserve in Stiles' jeep. I still felt kind of strange going into those woods. I had been missing in there for three days, and I still didn't remember a thing. No matter how much memory therapy I did at Moorebrook, not a single thing had come back to mind. It was like there was a big black hole where those three days were supposed to be. All I remembered was when Sheriff Stilinski found me curled up underneath some exposed tree roots near the lookout. I'd been told that they'd already looked there, so it was a miracle that I'd been found. My memories began when Sheriff Stilinski touched my arm, gently saying my name. I remembered him helping me out from under the overhanging tree roots, and him calling out to other police officers. I remembered being shaky, my vision being blurred, and holding my arms to my chest. I remembered seeing my nails and how bloody they were, and seeing my arms all scratched and torn, and the dawn of realization when I figured out I had done that to myself. I could still see in my mind the silver survival blanket going around me as I started to realize how I didn't know what had happened to me. Most of all, I remember the exact noise I made as I started to scream hysterically, and the pressure around me, as Sheriff Stilinski had to restrain me. It went fuzzy again after that until I woke up in hospital…

Stiles stopping the jeep snapped me out of my dream. We were at the preserve. Scott pulled the passenger door open so I could climb out. I was already regretting my outfit choice. I was still wearing my acid wash jeans with my white, crocheted sweater. I was already cold, and if I fell over in the mud, my clothes were going to be ruined,  
"We're seriously doing this?" Scott complained as we walked up to the chain that was meant to keep us out,  
"You're the one who's always bitching that nothing ever happens in this town!" Stiles replied, hopping the chain. I turned back to Scott once I had climbed over, "And can I say that you did NOT mention that you didn't want to come after I joined this! If had known you didn't want to go, I'd have talked you nerds out of it" I said to him,  
"I wanted to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow" he explained, coming up on hopping over himself,  
"Right. 'Cause sitting on the bench is such a gruelling effort" Stiles jabbed. I rolled my eyes. We were walking through the woods now. The ground didn't feel muddy beneath me, so I could stop worrying about ruining my clothes. I heard the annoyance in Scott's voice as he replied to Stiles, "No. I'm playing this year. In fact, I'm making first line". I smiled at that, thinking of all the practice and training he'd been putting in,  
"Hey! That's the spirit. Everyone should have a dream, even a pathetically unrealistic one" Stiles said back. I rolled my eyes,  
"Come on Stiles, don't be a douche. You know that Scott's been practicing a bunch" I scolded  
"Just trying to keep his ego in check. Don't want you getting disappointed when you inevitably fail" he said lightly. It was all in good fun, so I didn't really care that much, especially when I saw Scott roll _his_ eyes, "Just out of curiosity, which half of the body are we looking for?" he asked as we headed even further into the preserve. I saw Stiles stop for a second, "Huh! I didn't even think about that" he said, continuing walking,  
"Wow Stiles, you really do have a grip on this" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Scott laughed and continued on, "And what do we do if whatever killed the body is still out there?"  
"Also something I didn't think about" Stiles said. I couldn't help but mutter "Well guess I'm dying here tonight", earning a glare from Stiles,  
"Come on! My dad's the sheriff! I can protect us!"  
"Yeah, sure. Your skinny white butt is going to protect us? I'm good there, Twitchy" I replied, making him glare again when I used my nickname for him. We came to a bank and started to climb up, finding foot holds in the tree roots and jutting out rocks. I could hear Scott's breath starting to get shorter as we pulled ourselves up the bank, "It's comfortable to know that you've planned this out with your usual attention to detail" he wheezed, Stiles replying with an easy "I know". Scott leant back against a tree growing out from the bank, fishing through his hoodie pockets for his inhaler,  
"Maybe the severe asthmatic should be the one holding the flashlight, huh?" he said, taking deep breaths as he used his inhaler. As we reached the top of the incline, we saw and heard in the distance the police officers searching the woods. All three of us hit the ground beneath us quickly, Stiles fumbling with the flashlight to turn it off. They were a while off yet. Stiles grabbed my hand and pulled me up, "Okay come on" he whispered, dragging me after him.  
"Oh crap okay! We're going" I said to myself as Stiles started running. I could hear Scott calling after us, but Stiles was pulling me along, and I couldn't really stop. We tried to get away from the path the officers were heading in towards us, but Scott was still calling after us. We slowed down to look behind us to wait for him. All of a sudden a huge police dog was barking and snarling and an officer yelling at us, scaring us both. Stiles tripped over in the process and dragged me down too,  
"Hang on, hang on!" I heard Sheriff Stilinski shout over the dog's barking, "This little delinquent belongs to me, and the other one practically does too" he said as Stiles and I stood up, finally letting go of each other's hands,  
"Hey dad, how're you doing" Stiles asked, trying to act casual  
"What are you kids doing out here" the sheriff asked tiredly. I decided to cover for us,  
"Uhh, Stiles was taking me out to the woods. You know, to help me remember what happened when I went missing" I lied. Sheriff Stilinski raised his eyebrows,  
"See, I would believe that if it wasn't a night I got called out, and school started tomorrow. So do you listen to all of my phone calls" he replied, directing it back at Stiles. I chewed my bottom lip. We were busted,  
"No! Well, not the boring ones…" Stiles admitted. The sheriff nodded, "Well where's your other usual partner in crime?" he asked, looking around for Scott,  
"Who, Scott?" Stiles started, before I jumped in "we didn't want to bother him, he's still at home" Stiles nodded and continued on "yeah, he said he wanted to get a good night's sleep for first day back at school tomorrow. It's just us. In the woods. Alone." He said, making me roll my eyes again. Sheriff Stilinski wasn't buying it, as he shone his flashlight out around us calling out for Scott. I willed him to stay hidden. He didn't need to get in anymore trouble for goofing off with Stiles. Granted, neither did I, but Melissa would be easier on me than she would on Scott. We could hear thunder in the distance as the sheriff sighed. He had bought it,  
"Well you two, I am gonna walk you back to your car. And you and I, Stiles, are gonna have a conversation about something called invasion of privacy" he said, grabbing us both by our shoulders and walking us back towards the jeep.

* * *

On the walk back to Stiles' jeep, I stayed quiet as Stiles got a huge lecture from his dad about listening in on his work calls. When we got back to the jeep he turned to me too,  
"Now Gabby, I know you had Stiles with you, but remember how dangerous these woods can be. I don't think I could face having to organize a search party for you again. Now Stiles, take her home, take yourself home yourself. You have school tomorrow. I'll be home late" he said, before turning back the way we had come. I climbed in the passenger side, Stiles hopping in the driver's seat. We sat in silence for a moment before I spoke up,  
"Do you think Scott will be okay?" I asked quietly,  
"Scott will be fine. He's a big boy, he can get home himself" he said, trying to dispel my worries,  
"If you say so, dude. Drive me home, I'm exhausted" I said, leaning back in the seat as Stiles started the jeep. Just as we pulled back out on to the road, it started to rain. Welcome back to Beacon Hills, I thought as we drove through the pouring rain.

It took longer to drive me home, as Stiles drove a lot more carefully through the wet. I didn't hang around and talk in the car for particularly long, hopping out after a quick goodbye and running inside. I went straight to the kitchen and took my meds. It was weird having to take them without anyone else there, but I swallowed them back easily, and went to take off my makeup. Once I was barefaced, I messaged Stiles

_Scott still isn't home. Has he messaged you?_

As I waited for a reply, I changed into my pajamas and checked my backpack was ready to take to school in the morning. My phone eventually chimed with a message,

**Stiles: **_Just messaged me now. He's on his way home, but a long way off yet. He was bitten by some sort of animal, but the bite isn't anything he can't manage himself. Told me to make you go to bed and then go to school with me in the morning. No point in waiting up for him, we'll see in the morning._

I chewed my bottom lip. I was really, really tired and wanted to sleep more than anything, but Scott had been bitten by something. I couldn't properly sleep not knowing he was okay. I went to my notepad and wrote in big letters,

**IGNORE MY PREVIOUS STATEMENTS ABOUT NOT WAKING ME UP  
I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU DON'T COME IN WHEN YOU GET HOME, I WILL SNAP YOUR HALO DISC IN HALF.  
XOXO GABBY**

And went and left it on his bathroom door. Satisfied with the fact that Scott would see it, I went to bed and tried to sleep for a while.

I felt myself being shaken awake. I groaned and tried to roll away before remembering that it would be Scott. I sat up and switched on my lamp. Sure enough, there was an absolutely soaking wet Scott,  
"Holy crap! Are you okay?" I asked patting the bed for him to sit down,  
"Yeah, I'm fine" he said as he sat down,  
"Well, you got bitten by something, do you know what it was?" I asked reaching out to touch where I assumed the bite was by the way he held his side. I moved his hands away and pulled up his shirt, showing me a nasty looking bite mark still with blood slightly weeping out. I hissed; it looked really painful. I reached out to gently touch the skin around it. He didn't seem to flinch,  
"I'm not completely positive about what it was, but I'm pretty sure it was a wolf" he replied, pulling his shirt back down,  
"Wolves haven't been in California for decades though" I said doubtfully, "are you sure it wasn't a mountain lion?"  
"I'm just saying what I saw, and to me, it looked like a wolf. All these deer got startled and I lost my inhaler, then I saw this dark, wolf-shaped thing and it jumped and bit me and ran off" he said, running his hand through his wet mop of hair. I chewed my bottom lip,  
"That's pretty weird, you'd think it'd attack again. Do you need me to drive you to the hospital for stitches or anything?" I asked. Scott shook his head, "Mom's working tonight; I don't want to worry her. It doesn't even hurt anymore. I've got a ton of bandages in my bathroom, I'll patch myself up. And I'll just bike in to school tomorrow, get a ride with Stiles okay? I'll meet you guys there"  
"You do remember I have a car, right?" I said  
"Stiles comes near here on his drive to school, it doesn't make sense for you both to use up gas! Anyway, I know he feels bad about dragging you into the woods after what happened to you" Scott explained. I rolled my eyes, "Well he doesn't need to, its not like I actually remember what happened anyway" I said, hoisting my knees up under my chin. Scott sighed,  
"That's not it. I'll talk about it another time. You go to sleep and go to school with Stiles, okay? I can bike in later, I'll probably need that little bit extra sleep. Goodnight Gabby" he said, getting up and leaving my room, going into his own room. I heard the door make a soft click as it closed.

I was glad to see Scott was okay. I was prepared to trust his judgement, even if I was pretty damn sure bite needed stitches and about twenty different types of shots for diseases, but it seemed like he wasn't too worried. He hadn't even flinched or hissed in pain when I touched it. I glanced over at my clock and saw it was almost 3 am. This could be tomorrow's problem when we got to school and I had talked to Stiles. I pulled my bed covers back over me and switched off my lamp. It didn't take long for sleep to find me again.

**Author's Note: Woohoo! I updated! This was going to be longer, but I decided to break the episode one storyline into two parts, as I was finding it difficult thinking about how much I still had to write. I have a clear outline on what the next chapter is though, and hopefully it shouldn't take terribly long to finish. Thank you SO MUCH to those who have reviewed and followed! It's really amazing getting emails and seeing that people are actually enjoying this. Special thanks to my friend Mika for reading over and making sure I had the American spelling right (jewelry looks WRONG, it's j-e-w-e-l-l-e-r-y!) and pointing out where things didn't make sense. She's bloody fantastic, she is. Anyway, leave a review telling me what you think! I look forward to reading them. Now, on to the next update!**


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